ceiling. >> so i want to be clear about this, the debt ceiling is not a question of authorizing more spending. raising the debt ceiling does not authorize more spending, it simply allows the country to pay for spending that congress has already committed to. >> mike: well, according to the congressional record, in 2006, then senator barack obama had this statement just before a debt ceiling vote and i quote, the fact that we are here today to debate raising america's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure, it's a sign that the u.s. government can't pay its own bills, it's a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government's reckless fiscal policies. leadership means that the buck stops here. instead, washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today on the backs of our children and grandchildren, therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase america's debt limit. in 2008, candidate obama blamed president bush and called the growing debt unpatriotic. >> number 43 added 4 trillion dollars by his lonesome so that we no